10 Bold Predictions For the 2025 Buccaneers Season

The regular season is upon us, and the Buccaneers are set to take the field for their Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. It's Super Bowl or bust for the Bucs, and anything less will feel like a lost season. Fortunately, Tampa Bay's roster is full of the talent to get there, and key additions made this offseason might just put them over the top.

The Bucs look poised to make a Super Bowl run if they can stay healthy. This year has plenty of storylines, and here, I make some bold predictions on how things could turn out for the 2025 Bucs.

1. Edge rushers rack up the sacks

When you look at the Buccaneers' 2002 and 2020 Super Bowl wins, there are a few things in common. The first is that both teams are relatively healthy. The second thing that both of those teams shared was a feared pass rush. That hasn’t been the case for the Bucs the last few seasons, but after adding Hassan Reddick in free agency, the team feels like it finally has the edge to get the job done.

The depth took a hit early on in camp, but the Buccaneers still have a solid run anchored by starters Yaya Diaby and Haason Reddick. The impact that Reid can bring to this team should not be understated. While the Bucs struggled getting home with front pressure last season, adding the accomplished pass rusher has the potential to open things up for everyone along the defensive front.

Opposing teams will no longer be able to just focus on stopping Diaby on the outside with Reddick on the other side. His presence should create fewer double teams for Diaby and more opportunities for the third-year outside linebacker. Along the interior, it will open up lanes for Kancey and Vea should teams divert extra resources to Reddick.

All that to say, the Bucs' outside linebackers should feast this season, especially the starters. Here is how I have things shaking out:

Haason Reddick: 12
Yaya Diaby: 10.5
Chris Braswell: 4.5
Anthony Nelson: 3
Mohamed Kamara: 2
Markees Watts: 1

2. Emeka Egbuka enters the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation

The Egbuka hype has taken Tampa Bay by storm and has started to spread across the league. The rookie wide receiver came in polished and seasoned and has been showered with praise by Bucs players, coaches, and executives.

Baker Mayfield compared him to Detroit Lions superstar Amon-Ra St. Brown, while Mike Evans, Jason Licht and Todd Bowles have all said he reminds them of Chris Godwin.

Egbuka is set to open the season as the team’s starter opposite Evans while Godwin works on returning to the field. I expect him to have a large role to start the year and for him to continue to be a big part of the team’s passing game.

I don’t think it’s out of reach for him to record 50 to 60 receptions for 850+ yards and six or seven touchdowns in his rookie year.

3. RT Luke Goedeke and RG Cody Mauch finish top five at their positions

Goedeke and Mauch really came into their own during the latter half of the season. The pair of offensive linemen were playing at a high level, stonewalling defenders week in and week out.

Mauch didn’t allow a sack after Week 3 and only allowed two on the season. He finished fourth amongst all qualifying guards in pass blocking efficiency and pressure rate allowed, and first in the NFC.

Goedeke missed five games due to a concussion, but allowed just three sacks on the year and finished the year as a top 10 right tackle in pass blocking efficiency and paving the way in the run game.

I expect both to take their game to another level. And while a Pro Bowl might be difficult given other more well-known players at the position, I think both will finish the season ranked top five at their respective positions.

4. Mike Evans gets to 1,000 yards in Week 14

The drama and theatrics of Evans reaching 1,000 yards for the eleventh straight season made for perfect television. I don’t think the Bucs want to go down that road again, nor do I think they’ll have to.

In reality, Evans should be slowing down a bit. He’s over the age of 30, has a history of hamstring injuries, and receivers typically lose a step at this point. However, Evans isn’t like most receivers. Not only has Evans had 11 consecutive seasons with 1000 yards receiving and six seasons of double-digit touchdowns, but he’s done it mostly with a ragtag bunch of quarterbacks.

Going into year three with Baker Mayfield at the helm, Evans is trying to surpass Jerry Rice for most consecutive seasons of all time with 1000 yards receiving. If training camp is anything to gauge off of, Evan is in midseason form already. And with Chris Godwin sidelined for at least the first month, he should see plenty of opportunities that will help him get to his goal well before Week 18.

5. Kancey goes for double digits as Bucs eclipse 50 sacks

I have high expectations for Kancey this season. He entered the year healthy for the first time in his career and has continued to show flashes of dominance throughout his first two years. This is the year I believe everything comes together for the interior disruptor.

Kancey stated that he wants to lead the league in sacks, which is pretty ambitious — it will be a difficult feat to accomplish. However, I do feel that he can get to double digits this season.

In fact, I think the Bucs are going to get after the quarterback at a clip they haven’t since the early 2000s. As I predicted earlier, I think the starting edge rushers will feast for the Bucs, which will open everything up for Vea and Kancey inside.

Last season, the defensive line led the team in sacks with 24. I’m not sure they can duplicate the production, but I think they’ll come close, and Kancey will do his damnedest to try to get there himself. I have him ending up with 10.5 sacks like Diaby while the rest of the room likely adds another 10-12. Counting every other position, the Bucs could easily eclipse 50 sacks on the season.

6. 8 Bucs make Pro Bowl

With success comes notoriety, and I expect the Bucs to be plenty successful this season on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Buccaneers send four players to the Pro Bowl. Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and Tristan Wirfs all return for another year, and joining them for his first nod is Bucky Irving.

Evans will have 1,000 yards locked up before the end of the season, while Mayfield will continue to prove the doubters wrong with another strong season. Even if he misses the first four games of the season, Wirfs should jump right back in without missing a beat while Irving takes the lead back role and runs with it to another 1,000+ yard season.

Defensively, the Bucs also send four players to Orlando. Antoine Winfield Jr. makes his first appearance and is joined by fellow first-timers Calijah Kancey and Zyon McCollum. Winfield Jr. will be back to his 2024 self, and voters will finally give Lavonte David the recognition he deserves in what could be his final season.

As aforementioned with Kancey, I think he has a dominant year on the defensive line, reaching double-digit sacks. As for McCollum, I just think this is the year everything clicks for him. With the addition of Reddick and a healthy Winfield Jr., he’ll have more help around him to allow him to take those chances to create the turnovers he was known for coming out of college. I’ve got him for seven interceptions this year.

7. Benjamin Morrison surpasses Jamel Dean

I don’t know if this is bold or not, but at some point this season, Benjamin Morrison will be too hard to ignore for the Bucs coaches. That’s not a knock on Jamel Dean, as I’m actually higher on him than most. Instead, it’s a reflection of the talent that Benjamin Morrison possesses.

Morrison is a well-rounded cornerback, but he is most known for his ability to create turnovers, which he did in college to the tune of interceptions over three seasons. And while Dean has been an excellent cornerback when playing press man coverage, the problem is that the Bucs don’t play it as often as they could to highlight his strength. He is still one of the fastest players on the team, but a lack of turnovers has plagued him since he joined the Buccaneers.

After netting just seven interceptions last year, creating turnovers has been a priority for the defense. Morrison and fellow rookie corner Jacob Parish were known for that in college, as were Tykee Smith and Winfield Jr. It might take until midseason or an injury, but once Morrison takes the field as the starter, he won't give it back.

8. Bucs finish top 7 in offense and defense in 2025

The Buccaneers will return all of their offensive starters from last season at some point and add to the offensive firepower with the additions of Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson. Sure, there has been another coordinator change, but that’s nothing new for Baker Mayfield. Josh Grizzard was on the staff last season and will bring the continuity of the same offense. There will be some new wrinkles and terminology, but for the most part, it will stay much of the same, except for the addition of wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.

Egbuka gives teams a new aspect to prepare for on game day, especially when Chris Godwin returns from injury. His presence changes the offense enough so that teams won’t just be able to look at last year's tape to try and game plan for the Bucs. Similarly, the addition of Haason Reddick does the same thing for the defense.

When preparing to face the Bucs defense, the only one in the line you needed to account for was Vita Vea. Now with Reddick in the fold, teams need to respect him as well, which can give Yaya Diaby and Calijah Kancey open looks in what should be big years from them. The added pressure will also help the secondary, especially by creating turnovers and limiting time for explosive plays down the field.

Those two additions to the team, along with everything else they have going for them, lead me to believe there won’t be much drop-off on offense, and the defense is poised to take a big step this season.

9. Bucs lock up division by Week 15

The Buccaneers have backed into the playoffs a bit in the past two years in the last game of the season. That’s changed this year.

The Bucs have a more favorable schedule, especially on the back half. And they’ve gone through the midseason slump twice now and should be able to pull themselves out of one much quicker.

Other than that, I just think this is a better team than the one they fielded last year. I feel like there’s more depth should injuries occur and an even better chance of clinching the division early if they don’t.

This season, I think the Bucs lock it up in Week 15, which is fitting because it would be against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football, and the Falcons have squandered away the division the last two seasons.

10. Bucs win Super Bowl 60

I don’t know what it is, but something just feels different about the energy of this team. They’re loaded with playmakers, and everyone has bought in. The culture is impeccable and the continuity they’ve retained while adding to the roster has them young, deep and hungry.

I can’t understate how much I think the additions of Egbuka and Reddick supercharge their sides of the ball and what it can open up for others while producing for themselves. I think both of those guys are keys to the season.

Mayfield, Evans, Lavonte David, and others will play a critical role as the Bucs hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in franchise history.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 season.

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